History Characters / LikeADragonIchibanKasuga

* AllLovingHero: {{Downplayed|Trope}}. Ichiban certainly isn't immune to hating people (just ask Totsuka, Kume and [[spoiler: Bryce]], to name a few), but he generally looks at the best in people and is willing to forgive almost anyone at the slightest hint of remorse. [[spoiler:This trait is enough that he even manages to get through to Ryo Aoki and convince him to redeem himself for his crimes before his HeelFaceDoorSlam.]]

* ButtMonkey: He might be the unluckiest protagonist in the series. To put it into perspective, cars stop for Kiryu whenever he crosses the street. Cars ''ram Ichiban'' if he doesn't wait[[note]] Not so much in ''Infinite Wealth'', however; as he can no longer be run over while running through traffic outside of battle. He can still be hit by boats while swimming near the shores of Aloha Beach, however. [[/note]].

-->'''Ichiban:''' [[ConArtist You scam people with fake merch]], [[WouldHurtAChild you make kids cry]] and you don't know a damn thing about Michio!

* AllLovingHero: {{Downplayed|Trope}}. Ichiban certainly isn't immune to hating people (just ask Totsuka, Tendo, the Michio impostor and [[spoiler: Bryce]], to name a few), but he generally looks at the best in people and is willing to forgive almost anyone at the slightest hint of remorse. [[spoiler:This trait is enough that he even manages to get through to Ryo Aoki and convince him to redeem himself for his crimes before his HeelFaceDoorSlam.]]

-->'''Ichiban:''' You [[ConArtist scam people with fake merch]], [[WouldHurtAChild you make kids cry]] and you don't know a damn thing about Michio!

* AllLovingHero: Ichiban looks at the best in people and is willing to forgive almost anyone at the slightest hint of remorse. [[spoiler:This trait is enough that he even manages to get through to Ryo Aoki and convince him to redeem himself for his crimes before his HeelFaceDoorSlam.]]

* {{Irony}}: A retrospective example - Kiryu's stated homeplace is in Yokohama, but his debut adventure (and the majority of them) are set in Kamurocho, in Tokyo. Meanwhile, Ichiban's was quite literally born (and raised) in Shangri-La, which is located in Kamurocho, but the majority of his debut adventure sees him in Yokohama.

** In ''Infinite Wealth'', [[spoiler:both Tomizawa and Chitose]] attempt to ruin his arrival in Hawaii at different points in time; [[spoiler:Tomizawa attempted to get Ichiban thrown in jail under Yamai's orders, while Chitose drugged him, then stole his passport and his clothes while he was in a drug-induced stupor.]] Despite these setbacks, and with Kiryu's help, he was able to get through to the both of them and [[HeelFaceTurn rally them to their side]]. Similarly with [[spoiler:Eiji; even though his deception and betrayal hurt Ichiban deeply, he still considered him a friend due to the fact that they had fun, even if it wasn't genuine on Eiji's part.]]

* TheRedeemer: In ''Infinite Wealth'', he uses his job in Hello Work as a way to help rehabilitate ex-Yakuza, who face severe sanctions from the government. This includes directing one with experience in burglary to Adachi's private investigation firm, who uses his skills to help stores discover any potential blind spots blind spots. Similarly, he convinces Tomizawa to pull a HeelFaceTurn and join his and Kiryu's side against Yamai and the rest of Hawaii's gangs.

* RelationshipUpgrade: ''Infinite Wealth'' revealed that he canonically became close enough with Saeko that he attempted to propose to her, only to be rejected.

** He does this again in ''Infinite Wealth'' for [[spoiler:letting himself to be manipulated by Eiji who deliberately fakes his disability to use Ichiban's kindness and sympathy due to his history with Masato in order to initiate his plan to betray the heroes and lead Dwight's Barracudas to raid their hideout, which leads to Lani kidnapped along with Wong and Hanawa's deaths.]]

* BunnyEarsLawyer: Ichiban Kasuga - an ex-con that imagines life as a ''Dragon Quest'' adventure and is every bit as multitalented as his predecessors. Such feats include, but aren't limited to - being a good go-kart racer, turning a once-struggling small business into a multi-billion dollar franchise, having quite the [[GuileHero silver tongue]], and having charisma on par with that of a politician or cult leader.

* BatmanGambit: [[spoiler:His plan to take Masato and Tendo down hinged on him knowing that Masato would do everything to cover up any evidence of his criminal activities and would send Tendo to do the dirty work. Luckily, it worked like a charm, and he played Arakawa like a fiddle because, as he points out, he's known Masato for years, and knows him more than Masato knows him]].

* CombatMedic: Not initially, but his exclusive Hero class gradually gives him some very good healing and buffing skills that he can use in tandem with powerful physical attacks. While his magic isn't as good as [[WhiteMagicianGirl Saeko]], he can still potentially act as the full time WhiteMage on the team if she's in another class.

* BookDumb: Downplayed. While he's a middle school dropout, one of his primary strengths in combat is being able to coordinate with his team. Not to mention, he can become just as multi-talented as prior protagonists via the Job System. He becomes less so to the point of being a noticeable aversion upon passing each certification in Vocational School, however, and one of his social stats is Intelligence. On top of all of that, Ichi shows multiple times that he's actually quite bright in general, and is particularly brilliant at complicated plans and strategies, to the point that even other smart and meticulous planners [[spoiler:like Masato]] don't see the plans in front of them until they've already been implemented to a point where they can't be stopped.

** He does this again in ''Infinite Wealth'' for [[spoiler:letting himself to be manipulated by Eiji who deliberately fakes his disability to use Ichiban's kindness and sympathy due to his history with Masato in order to lead Dwight's Baracuddas to raid the heroes' hideout, which leads to Lani being kidnapped along with Wong and Hanawa's deaths.]]

!!! '''Voiced by:''' Kazuhiro Nakaya (Japanese), Creator/KaijiTang (English)[[labelnote:Other Languages]]Jason Cao (Chinese)[[/labelnote]]

* ItsAllMyFault: [[spoiler:He blames himself partially for both the Arakawa family falling to the Omi Alliance and Masato's fall into corruption because for the former he would have been able to do something if his sentence wasn't extended and for the latter he blames himself for not being there to prevent his StartOfDarkness]].

* OlderThanTheyLook: His exuberance belies the fact that he's 42, making him older than when Kiryu was in ''1''/''Kiwami''. He also didn’t physically age much despite the 18 years in prison, with the main change being his hairstyle ''after'' getting out. [[EarlyInstallmentCharacterDesignDifference He did look older in the first trailers]], however, with more noticeable wrinkles and tired features.

* AnimeHair: His haircut is probably the closest thing to a realistic approximation of spiky anime character hair that one can get. He was trying to get a 90's style punch perm for that classic Yakuza look from his youth, but it being 2019 and the stylist being a young woman who had ''no idea'' what a punch perm was, this was the result. Adachi can't help but bust a gut upon seeing it.

* AsianAndNerdy: He's the nerdiest protagonist in series history.

* BigDamnHeroes: The ''Shin Ryu Ga Gotoku'' announcement teaser had him punching out [[BullyingADragon a thug who was rushing to stab Kazuma Kiryu]]. Of course, this being Kiryu, [[BodyguardingABadass this was completely unnecessary]], but Kiryu appreciated the sentiment nonetheless.

* BookDumb: Downplayed. While he's a middle school dropout, one of his primary strengths in combat is being able to coordinate with his team. Not to mention, he can become just as multi-talented as prior protagonists via the Job System. He becomes less so upon passing each certification in Vocational School, however, and one of his social stats is Intelligence. On top of all of that, Ichi shows multiple times that he's actually quite bright in general, and is particularly brilliant at complicated plans and strategies, to the point that even other smart and meticulous planners [[spoiler:like Masato]] don't see the plans in front of them until they've already been implemented to a point where they can't be stopped.

* BunnyEarsLawyer: Ichiban Kasuga - an ex-con that imagines life as a ''Dragon Quest'' adventure and is every bit as multitalented as his predecessors. Such feats include, but aren't limited to - being a good go-kart racer, turning a once-struggling small business into a multi-billion dollar franchise, having quite the [[GuileHero silver tongue]], and being able to go toe to toe against Ryo Aoki in terms of rallying public support.
* ButNotTooForeign: Infinite Wealth reveals that [[spoiler:he's part Hawaiian through his mother Akane]].
* ButtMonkey: He might be the unluckiest protagonist in the series. To put it into perspective, cars stop for Kiryu whenever he crosses the street. Cars ''ram Ichiban'' if he doesn't wait.

* ColorMotif: Red. His usual suit and Breaker outfit are both red, his Bodyguard outfit has a red tie, his Host outfit has both a red undershirt and a red pocket square, and his Devil Rocker outfit has both red accents and red face paint.

The protagonist of ''Yakuza: Like a Dragon'', taking place after the end of Kazuma Kiryu's saga.\\\

** Kiryu's approach to problem solving was generally either mean-mugging whoever he doesn't like until they run away in fear, or beating them up until they complied. While he had his moments of guile, he was first and foremost a manly ActionHero. Ichiban is a charismatic GuileHero who usually only resorts to combat after trying to talk things out. This is best shown at the endgame of each of their first major titles - where ''1'' ends with Nishiki and Kiryu duking it out, [[spoiler:Ichiban ends his game by [[TalkingDownTheSuicidal talking down a suicidal Aoki]], and doesn't even blink at having a gun waved in his face.]]
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Ichiban is a goofy, charismatic, naive {{Chuunibyou}} who nobody takes seriously. With or without his party, he has several opportunities to demonstrate why ''that's a very bad idea''. Even when he was still in prison, he somehow went - [[OffScreenMomentOfAwesome offscreen]] - from being in an armlock with a goon swinging an adjustable wrench at his head, to [[CurbStompBattle sending them to the infirmary minus all their teeth]]. He doesn't look particularly hurt afterwards, and the rest of the inmates are visibly terrified of him from that point on.

* EarnYourHappyEnding: While not a truly happy conclusion as he intended, Kasuga came better off than Kiryu did. In spite of [[spoiler:losing his father figures and Masato]] in the events of the game, he still managed to find support in his new comrades in Yokohama and realizes despite being forced down to the bottom, there was still a ray of hope for him.

* NiceGuy: He’s kind, earnestly believes the best of people and goes out of his way to help anyone in need with far less reluctance than even Kiryu. Despite his temper and shortsightedness there’s no one else you’d want at your side.

** Played for laughs in the Company Management side story when he realizes that Eri bought a new office building for '''10 billion yen!'''[[note]]Roughly 96 million USD, and the same amount of money that was the driving force of the first game[[/note]]
** Played straight in the beginning when Arakawa pulls out a pistol and shoots him dead.
** [[spoiler:Also has this reaction when Kume fatally stabs Masato in the end.]]
* OlderThanTheyLook: His exuberance belies the fact that he's 42, making him older than when Kiryu was in 1. He also didn’t physically age much despite the 18 years in prison with the main change being his hairstyle. He did look older in the first trailers, however, with more noticeable wrinkles and tired features.
* OneManArmy: Pointedly averted. Unlike every other series protagonist, Ichiban relies on the help of his friends when fighting. Past the first chapter and a few select moments, he never fights solo. One of the Party Chats has him claim to have won a 20-man brawl in middle school, a claim that absolutely nobody buys (or simply believes that he beat them in Virtua Fighter).
* OnlyFriend: While he also had Mitsuo. Back in his days in the Arakawa Clan he was the caretaker of Masato Arakawa, whom he regarded as a brother regardless of how Masato actually felt about him (tolerance at best, barely-hidden contempt at worst).

* ThePowerOfFriendship: Said by WordOfGod to rely on this, in contrast to previous protagonists such as Kazuma who are a OneManArmy. Increasing his bond with his party members actually strengthens his tag attacks and unlocks access to new moves.

* TheRedeemer: In ''Infinite Wealth'', he uses his job in Hello Work as a way to help rehabilitate ex-Yakuza, who face severe sanctions from the government. This includes directing one with experience in burglary to Adachi's private investigation firm, who uses his skills to help stores discover any potential blind spots blind spots.